Book Launch for "WELTZEITUHR" with Helga Kurzchalia

A young psychologist feels her freedom is restricted by social conditions and keeps asking herself what is normal and why the “normal” often seems so alien to her. Is it an echo of the Nazi era? Or a reflection of the GDR, with its norms and constraints, its sense of confinement? In search of direction, she looks at her own life through a different lens when she meets Magda, who smuggled children out of the Jewish ghetto during the war and, many years later, works with autistic children; while working at Herzberge Hospital, when she unexpectedly runs into an old school friend in the psychiatric ward; or at a counseling center, where she explores personal scope for change together with families. Time and again, it becomes clear how deeply the political permeates the personal: personal biography becomes a magnifying glass for collective history.

“It’s impressive how the protagonist, a young psychologist, worked her way out of the confines of the GDR and not only seeks new answers in the West but also embarks on a journey to the East to question her own life.” Jens Reich

“What fascinates me about *Weltzeituhr* is the quiet, warm tone with which the right to privacy is defended.” Katja Petrowskaja

The author, Helga Kurzchalia, is a psychotherapist and writer. With her novel *Haus des Kindes* and her new release *Weltzeituhr*, she has created a literary journey of discovery in the heart of East Berlin that combines documentary precision with narrative originality.

Tickets: Advance sales €13, reduced €7.50 for students and social pass holders, plus advance sales fee. Box office: €19, reduced €15

Organizers: An event presented by GOLDA books and more, Friedenauer Presse, and Förderverein Sophienkirche Berlin e.V.

Graphic © Misha Shenbrodt / Matthes & Seitz Verlag